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Alfa Romeo-based Dodge Dart revealed before official debut

The new Dodge Dart, based on the Alfa Romeo Giuletta, has been given a teaser website ahead of its full debut. Photo Credit: Pava/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA

There have been rumors of an Alfa Romeo-based Dodge for some time, due to Chrysler and Alfa being owned by Fiat. The car has been confirmed as being the 2013 Dodge Dart.

Illinois is wherefore Romeo art

Fiat cars are available in the U.S. again. The question that has been on some people’s minds is when Fiat would get around to bringing Alfa Romeo back to America. Fiat’s other brands, Maserati and Ferrari, are already here but not many of them are sold because not many are made, and hardly anyone can afford them.

The first new Alfa in more than a decade is coming to America as a Dodge, according to USA Today. The rumor mill has been going for some time, but Dodge has confirmed that it will be the new Dodge Dart. According to Dodge’s preview site, it’s being made at the plant in Belvedere, Ill., and the car was sourced from the Alfa Romeo Guilietta, Alfa’s compact sedan. Some may have hoped for something based on the gorgeous 8C Competizione, but no such luck.

Smaller than the old one

The original Dodge Dart was a classic Mopar muscle car with some models, according to Wikipedia, coming with Dodge’s 440-cubic-inch V-8, and some rare variants received the 426 Hemi engine. However, the new Dart is not an Alfa with a Dodge grill slapped on it, but rather a Dodge based on the compact Giulietta, according to Car and Driver. It’s slightly wider, longer and, just like the Giulietta, is front-wheel-drive and will come with three available four-cylinder engines.

The Dart will get the turbo-charged 1.4-liter MultiAir engine from the Fiat 500, a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter Tigershark Chrysler engine and a 2.4-liter MultiAir Tigershark engine. The 2.4-liter is expected to be the more powerful and will likely be offered in an R/T-badged model.

According to Dodge’s teaser site, it will get the ZF eight-speed transmission that is also found in the Charger, among the three available transmissions.

Full unveil to follow

The production version of the car is going to be unveiled at the upcoming Detroit Motor Show in January of 2012. A coupe, convertible or hatchback model hasn’t been confirmed, and because the Dart is replacing the outgoing Caliber, the Dart is probably going to only be available as a sedan.

There is no word yet on when it is going to be available but it’s likely to be sometime in 2012. Pricing isn’t available yet, but it is replacing the Caliber, which is just less than $20,000 for the base model.